Fructose Free Post Easter

So Easter was managed. I had decided to allow myself a Lindt Bunny, first Chocolate since Xmas. I did succumb to a couple of little eggs from the kids stash too... but nipped it in the bud within a day after Easter break & hopped back on the FF Wagon.

The kids got a bunny each & ate them over 3 days, plus a handful of miniature eggs from a hunt. They were very grateful & understood moderation on a daily basis for the week. Since then they've had none & have accepted that's it until another special occasion. I've muted their birthday could be next occasion for a chocolate treat.... consequently both have already put their orders in for cake designs when the B word was mentioned. Nothing like planning ahead! I need that 5 months to perfect my FF baking, not to mention dust off my creative hat & work out how to do Dora & Diego cakes respectively.

I have tried to cut out fruit for the meantime, following the I Quit Sugar plan loosely to give me a boost. But at the moment I think portion size is still my downfall, though I have noticed a few times I've been unable to finish a meal & happy to accept food left on my plate. The recommendation is to cut-out fruit (on top of added sugar) for a couple of weeks, then reintroduce a piece or two of whole fruit once appetite control is in place. I haven't had any sweet substitutes for a couple of weeks, though might allow myself an Anzac day treat this week following this FF GF Anzac Biscuit recipe I saw recently. I love the experience of making Anzacs, the melting of the butter & the fizzing of the bicarb soda... great one for the kids to get involved with. This recipe calls for Xanthum gum which apparently helps with the binding, so I'm hoping an improvement to my prior GF baking experiences.

Ideas for sugar free Easter gifts for the kids - Bunny hair ties, like these cute ones from Made'Em. Pajamas, I found some adorable ones with bunnies on. How about headbands with chicks or eggs on or a pair of bunny ears. I also have some decorative papier mache egg shells about the size of a medium Easter Egg (or an Emu egg), which I find a small toy to fit in... this year some wind up animals for races against each other. Books are also a winner... this years favourite was the Easter Bunnys Helpers.

Soda so good

Decided to treat ourselves to a Sodastream today... not for the sickly syrupy pops but just for plain old soda water... aka LEMONADE to the kids!  I took to soda water when I first began reading Sweet Poison last July, & since then the whole family loves it & we've been getting through so many bottles at 80c a pop & generating landfill waste it was about time to invest. Gave me a nice warm fuzzy feeling & retro moment when I pressed the button the first time & created my bubbles. Back in the day though it would have been orange, cherry-cola, lemonade & ginger ale. I want to prevent my kids from the tooth decay & weight gain that those give though, so just plain old soda water, with maybe the odd slice of lemon in to jazz it up once in a while.  Maybe I can introduce some fructose free additions to interest them later but all the while they are happy with water & full fat milk as drinks thats fine. No.1 has tasted real lemonade on occasion, & infrequently watered down juice, but No.2 hasn't had soft drinks.
Whilst we were at the checkout No.2 was reaching across the counter to get to the pretty bunny wrappers, No.1 chirps up "No, we can't have that, its sugar, we're allowed to have chocolate next at Easter", she whined a little about wanting a frog... obviously knowing the bunnies innards would taste just like a Freddo but soon distracted & we completed our purchase. They will get some chocolate at Easter, as will I but it will be a token thing & the other Easter gifts will be toys, books or clothing. Last year before I started this crusade they only had one egg each & a couple of mini eggs for the hunt, so its not like they are used to chocolate... though I did toilet train with chocolate buttons... 1 for a wee, 2 for a poo - so that has limited amounts, that said they both started drinking lots of water I'm convinced to get more for their efforts!

Sweet Beginnings

So it begins.... its been a while since I blogged, but what seemed old hat, now seems the latest thing once again. What better way to start on my adventures in life and what becomes of reducing the sweet stuff from it. Now the sweetest things in my life are my children & by no means do I mean them, I mean the evil sweet stuff that is sugar & its addictive nature that has a hold on me. Watch this space for how I fare along the way.